Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, who ruled the late 1950s and 1960s with his unique style and versatile range, passed away at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Sunday, family sources said.

He was 79. He is survived by his wife Neela Devi, son Aditya Raj and daughter Kanchan Desai.

According to the sources, he was on dialysis for the last few years and was undergoing the procedure at least thrice a week.

He was admitted to the ICU of the hospital on Saturday.

The actor, who made his debut in Bollywood in 1953, when the film ‘Jeevan Jyoti’ was released, carved out a niche for himself with the superhit Junglee in 1961.

His new image took ground and his subsequent films were all in this genre later.

Kapoor, hailed as ‘Elvis Presley of India’, joined the silver screen at a time when his elder brother Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar were the reigning trio.

Kapoor was suffering from chronic renal failure, family sources said. The funeral will take place on Monday morning, they said.

Born Shamsher Raj Kapoor on 21^st October 1931, Kapoor was the second son of veteran theatre and film actor Prithviraj Kapoor.

Despite his family background, Shammi’s entry into Bollywood was initially not successful even though he worked with major heroines like Madhubala in ‘Rail ka Dibba’, Suraiya in ‘Shama Parwana’ and Nalini Jaywant in ‘Hum Sab Chor Hai’.

His initial movies flopped at the Box Office. He reinvented himself with ‘Tumsa Nahi Dekha’ cutting his hair in the famous duck-tail style of the 50s and never looked back since then.

With the success of Junglee in 1961, an entire decade reeled under its colourful impact.

Shammi heralded the swinging 60s and a large part of his appeal was primarily due to the immensely catchy and upbeat numbers like ‘Suku Suku’, ‘O Haseena Zulfo Wali’, ‘Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche’, ‘Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera’ where he was at his boisterous best.

Even though success came with light weight tales like ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, ‘Rajkumar’, ‘Jaanwar’ and ‘An Evening in Paris’, his performances in flicks like ‘Junglee’, ‘Badtameez’, ‘Bluff Master’, ‘Pagla Kahin Ka’, ‘Teesri Manzil’, ‘Brahmachari’ silenced his critics.

‘Andaz’, which released in 1971, was his last movie as a leading man but his character roles in ‘Vidhata’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Prem Rog’ were well received.

Shammi was a computer aficionado and his last years were veered towards spiritualism.

PM condoles death of Shammi Kapoor

Condoling the death of veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said he was an accomplished actor who entertained millions of fans.

“I am sad to learn of Shammi Kapoor’s demise. He was an accomplished actor who entertained millions and millions of fans in India and abroad. I share his family’s grief,” Singh said in a message on Sunday.

79 years-old Kapoor, reportedly, was on dialysis for last few days and was admitted to the ICU of a hospital in Mumbai, where he breathed his last on Sunday morning.

The actor, who made his Bollywood debut in 1953 with the movie ‘Jeevan Jyoti’, carved out a niche for himself with his superhit film Junglee in 1961.

He is survived by his wife Neela Devi, son Aditya Raj and daughter Kanchan Desai.

Shammi Kapoor’s last rites to be performed on Monday

The funeral of Bollywood actor Shammi Kapoor will take place on Monday, according to his family.

The actor passed away in Mumbai on Sunday morning. The funeral will take place at 11 am at Banganga in south Mumbai, after his grandson returns from the US.

Family members, friends, several Bollywood personalities including Amitabh Bachchan and industrialist Anil Ambani visited the Kapoor’s residence Blue Heaven at Malabar Hill this morning, after learning of his demise.